Cleaner for conveyer-belts.



C. A. WINTERS.

CLEANER FOR CONVEYER BELTS.

APPLICATION man JULY 21. 1916.

'" 39,966. Patentedeps. 4,191?

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTCJR NITN ESSES 89M? Maw/ C. A. WINTERS.

CLEANER FOR CONVEYER BELTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27.1916.

Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENT R WITNESSES orio.

,, i :n CONRAD A. \VINTERS, OF ANACONDA, MONTANA.

CLEANER For CONVEYER-BELTS.

Application filed July 27, 1916.

To all whom it may concern: a 1

Be it known that I, CONRAD A. WVL NTERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Anaconda, in the county of Deerlodge and State of .Montana,have invented a new and useful Cleaner for Conveyer-Belts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto cleaners for conveyer belts, and its object is to provide a structure for the purpose which may be applied to a conveyer belt without the necessity of additional mechanism or disturbing any part of the installed structure.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a basic structure carrying a driving pulley and a heater devicepermanently connected together and arranged for attachment to a machine having a conveyer belt in such manner as to both support and beat the under run of the conveyer belt, thus removing therefrom any accumulations which may cling to the active surface of the belt. The basic portion of the cleaner is so arranged'that the drive pulley and beating structure of the beater may be adjusted with respect to the lower run of the belt to engage the belt with sutlicient frictional force.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with the further understanding that while the drawings show a practical form of the invention, the latter is not confined to any strictconformity with the showing of the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications come within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is aside elevation of a portion of the conveyer belt and the beater structure associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the structure shown in Fig. l as seen from the right hand end thereof. a

Fig. -.l= is an end elevation of the beater drum.

Referring to the drawings there is shown a portion of a conveyer belt 1 and a drum 2 around which the conveyer belt is carried, and this drum may represent the end drum where the conveyer belt discharges. The drum :2 is mounted ona shaft 3 sup- Specificati on of Letters Patent.

Patented fi eptja, 191?; Serial No. 111,694.

ported in journal bearings 4: after the usual manner. p i

The cleaner structureis provided with a ase plate 5 which, when installed, is secured in any suitable manner to a fixed part of the structure and located beneath the lower run of the conveyor belt at the discharge end of the conveyer belt. 1 The base plate 5 is formed with an inclinedor wedgeshaped portion 6 supporting another wedgeshuped portion 7, which in turn carries a plate 8. The base plate 5 and the plate 8 may correspond in size and are held together, but at the same time permitted to approach or recede, by bolts or guide pins Spermitting such approach or recession .of the two plates as may be needed, The wedge 6 is or maybe fast-to the plate 5, while the wedge 7 is capable of movement both with relation to the wedge 6 and plate 8. The movement of the wedge T is brought about by screw rods lOpassed through and capable of rotating in lugs 11 at one end of. the base plate The rods 10 are held against longitudinal, movement by collars 12 engaging the lugs 11, and are threaded into the wedges 7, so that on turning the rods 10 the wedges 7 are moved lengthwise? of the wedges 5. and coaot with thelatter to raise the plate 8 or permit it to ,drop in accordance with the direction of movement of the wedge 7. By providing the structure with two screw rods 10 nearopposite sides, andif need be with two sets ofwedges (j and 7, the plate 8 may be raised or lowered at will with regularity by turning the rods 10 simultaneously. I h 1 W a Mounted on opposite sides of the plateS near one end are standards 13, while other similar standards lat are carried by the op posite end of the plate 8. i

The standards13 carryat their. upper ends, since they are uprightin the installed position, a shaft 15 carrying a roller or pulley 16. The shaft 15 also has fast thereto at one end of the roller a beveled pinion 17.

The standards 14 carry at their upper ends ashaft 18 on which is mounted a ,drum 19.. The shaft 18 also carriesa bevel pinion 20. The plate 8 between the standards 13 and 14 on one side of the platesupports an upstanding bearing block 21 having journal bearings 22 at its upper end through which there is passed a shaft 23 having bevel pin; ions 2%, 25 on respectively opposite ends,

g with the pinions these pinions meshin and 20, respectively. The result of this arrangement is that when the pulley 16 is turned in one direction the drum 19 receives rotative movement in the opposite direction through the intermediary of the pinion 17, shaft 23 and pinion 20. p

The drum 19 is shown as-of polygonal cross-section, although such shape is not obligatory. Mounted on and extending lengthwise of the drum 19 are angle brackets 26 each carrying a pair of plates or strips by means of bolts 29. Clamped between the plates 27 and 28 are strips 30 of suitable flexible material, such, for instance,

as rubber belting, the plates 27 and 28 being I customarily of steel. The flexible strips 30 are held between the plates'2-7 and 28 except at their outer edges, where they have some flexibility because there unsupported. WVhen the device is applied to a conveyer belt, the pulley 16 is so positioned as to engage the then under surface of the lower run of the conveyer belt. lVith the parts properly positioned, the pulley 16 is engaged by the lower run of the conveyer belt and with the latter in motion the pulley 16 is rotated by the traveling .conveyer belt. The strips 30, which serve as beater strips on the drum 19 constituting the beater drum, successively strike the lower run of the conveyer belt on that surface which in theupper run constitutes the receiving sura belt,

pact, however,

face of the conveyer belt. The direction of movement of the heaters with respect to the conveyer belt is opposite to the direction of movement of the under run of the conveyer belt, wherefore the beatersstrike the belt with suitable force to dislodge any particles clinging thereto and, moving oppositely to the direction of movement of the conveyer such dislodged particles are driven awayfrom thebelt in a manner to become entirely free from the belt. Theaction of the beater blades is relatively rapid and violent with a rubbing or sweeping-motion in addition to the impact of th'e elastic portions of the blades of the beater'upo'n the conveyer belt. The drive of the beater drum is positive through the gearing and connecting shafting, while the pulley 16 receives motion directly from the conveyer belt itself. The degreegof pressure exerted by the pulley against the conveyer belt may be determined by the movement of the wedge 7 on the wedge 6,and while such movement may be participated in by the beater drum, the latter may be so proportioned with relation to the pulley 16 that the proper degree of impact is maintained. The force of the im' will vary with the speed. The beater. drum may have its main or hub portion of cast; iron, the beater blades of rubber belting and the clampingstrips tation of the beater drum serves one of steel plate and the other of steel spring, which latter in the direction of roas an elastic backing strip permitting further yielding of the exposed portion of the rubber belting. By this means the first impact on the rubber beltingis more or less yielding and while thespring' strip represented by the plate 27 is also more or less yielding, its degree of yielding is less than that of the rubber belting-, thus yieldingly backing upthe rubber belting and stiffening the force of the impact.

The entire cleaner structure may be independent of any partof the conveyer structure and constitute an attachment thereto, so that it is susceptible of separate manufacture and subsequent attachment to the conv'eyer structure. Of course, in a new machine the belt cleaner maybe built into the machine, but it is also capable of being separately built and attachedto existing machines without the necessity ofany change whatever in the latter and without themcessity of any connections or additional devices for driving it. Moreover, the entire belt structure is entirely beneath the lower run of the conveyer belt and assists in keeping the latter from sagging.

WVhile the means shown in the drawing for adjusting the drive pulley and beater structure toward and fromthe under runof the belt have been described in detail, it is.

ture and adapted to engage the under surface of the lower run of the conveyer belt, a beater structure also mounted on thefbasic structure andprovided with beaters for engaging the under surface ofthe under run of the conveyer belt, and driving connections between the pulleys and 'beaters.

2. A cleaner for conveyer belts, comprising a basic structure individual to the cleaner and composed of superposed'parts with means for controlling the separation of the parts, a pulley mounted on the higher part and adapted to engage-the under surface of the lower run of the conveyer belt, and a beater mounted on the higher part of the basic structure and connected to the pulley to be driven by'the latter.

7 3. A cleaner for conveyer belts, comprising a basic structure composed of super posed parts with means for. controlling the separationof the parts, a pulley mounted on thehigher part andadapted. to engage the ing a drive pulley under surface of the lower run of the conveyer belt, and a beater mounted on the higher part of the basic structure and connected to the pulley to be driven by the latter, the beater comprising a series of blades of flexible material with backing strips of flexible material tending to return the blades to their normal position after being displaced therefrom by engagement with the conveyer belt.

4. A cleaner for conveyer belts, comprisfor engaging the under surface of the lower run of a conveyer belt, a beater structure connected to the drive pulley for actuation thereby, and a basic member individual to the cleaner and carrying both the pulley and beater and provided with means for the adjustment of the pulley and beater toward and from the under =surface of the lower run of the conveyer belt.

5. A cleaner for conveyer belts, comprising a supporting structure adapted to be placed beneath the lower run of a conveyer belt, said cleaner having a pulley adapted to engage the under surface of the lower run of the conveyer belt for actuation thereby, and a rotative beater connected to the pulley to be driven by the latter, the beater being provided with beater blades of flexible material with each blade having a backing of spring material adapted to yield to the impact of theblade on the conveyor belt and to return the blade to normal position after leaving the conveyer belt.

6. A cleaner for conveyer belts comprising a basic structure composed of superposed members with intervening wedge surfaces and means for the relative adjustment of the surfaces to raise and lower the upper member, a drive pulley on the upper member adapted to engage the under surface of the lower run in the conveyer belt, and a beater structure also on the upper member of the basic structure, said beater structure being connected to the pulley for actuation thereby.

7. A cleaner for conveyer belts, comprising, a basic structure composed of super posed members with intervening wedge surfaces, and means for the relative adjustment of the surfaces to raise and lower the upper member, a drive pulley on the upper member adapted to engage the under surface of the lower run in the conveyer belt, and a heater structure also on the upper member of the basic structure, said beater structure being connected to the pulley for actuation thereby, the connections between the pulley and conveyer structure comprising positive gear connections for rotating the beater structure in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the pulley;

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CONRAD A. XVINTERS.

lVitnesses J OHN R. lVIACDONALD, SAMUEL T. BLAIR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Estimate, Washington, D. C. 

